Preaching to the Choir? Religious Leaders and <scp>A</scp>merican Opinion on Immigration Reform

Abstract

Objective Do the public declarations of religious leaders concerning immigration influence A merican public opinion on immigration reform? Methods In answering this question, we use the 2004 National Politics Study and employ ordered logistic regression techniques to test hypotheses derived from elite opinion theory. Results We find that exposure to elite messages from religious leaders on immigration leads respondents to more strongly support increasing immigration to the U nited S tates, allowing immigrants to serve in the military, and allowing immigrants who serve in the military to gain citizenship. Conclusion Taken together, these results provide evidence that members of A merica's largest religious denominations are communicating support for liberal immigration reforms to their parishioners and, more importantly, that these signals subsequently influence the preferences of the parishioners exposed to these messages.